Top 10 Beauty Myths

So many of our IMBB readers are going to be proud moms that I could not help begin this skin, hair and beauty myths article with some Old Wives Tales about how to predict the gender of your child (remember to try these only for fun) : (a) Hang your wedding ring from a string over your belly. If the ring swings back and forth your baby is a girl. If it swings around in a circle then it is a boy. (b) Put a tablespoon of Drain-O in a cup and pee into it. If the mixture turns green you are having a girl. If it turns blue you are having a boy. (c) If you’re carrying low, you’re having a boy. If you are carrying high, then you must be having a girl. (d) If you are craving for chocolates you could be having a girl, if you crave for something sour such as lemon juice, you could be having a boy. :-)

Well, beauty myths and old wives tales are just those- myths and old wives tales. They are fun to listen to but do not carry much scientific facts behind them. We have collected some beauty myths for you. Some of the myths you may actually believe in (I found that my wife believes in 2- 3 of these beauty myths) and some of them you might have heard. Whatever be the case, they are all myths and Old Wives Tales.

Skin Beauty Myths

Myth 1: Chocolates and Fried Foods Cause Breakouts and Acne-

As much as mineral water makes you tipsy- they don’t. Having frequent acne on your skin  means that you have a skin which reacts abnormally to a hormone called testosterone. The sebaceous glands are prompted by testosterone to produce an oily stuff called sebum. Because of this the pores that hold the hair get blocked partially (producing blackheads) or fully (producing pimples). It is a myth that there is a relation between eating chocolates or fried foods and skin breakouts or acne. When was the last time you saw an overweight person with acne? Most of them have smooth skin. Although, if you eat healthy diet your skin will certainly glow.

Myth 2: Acnes are caused by dirt so wash and scrub your face-

DON’T! In fact acne is caused by sebum below the skin surface and hence are not affected by dirt. Trying to wash away a pimple on your skin might even worsen it by increasing oil production. The best thing is to use a gentle cleanser so you don’t damage your skin’s outer barrier or create inflammation (both of which hinder your skin’s ability to heal and fight bacteria) and to use gentle skin exfoliation. You should also go for an exfoliating product that contains salicylic acid or glycolic acid for reducing acne on your skin.

Myth 3: Vaseline on your face/under eye every night can prevent wrinkles-

Vaseline is just a moisturizer and it may soften the skin but there is no indication that it can prevent wrinkles. Also it can sometimes block your skin pores so it might break your skin out into pimples. In fact there is not a single beauty product that can prevent wrinkles.

Myth 4: Organic or Natural Products are Better than synthetic products for Skin:

Not necessarily. You may be right in believing that “don’t put on your skin what you cannot put into your mouth,” but don’t trust those ‘Organic’ or ‘Natural’ labels completely. There is not much evidence to support that organic beauty products are better for your skin. In fact, ‘natural’ ingredients may be harder to preserve against microbial contamination and growth than synthetic raw materials. Many of them have a short shelf life and can harm your skin if the product has expired. Sometimes organic products are made of fruit extracts which can irritate skin or cause allergies.

Hair Beauty Myths

Myth 5: Plucking a Gray Hair Makes More Gray Hair Come Out-

Congrats! You have invented a cure for baldness. We can ask all the bald men to start plucking their Gray hair and grow more hair. Honey, it’s simply not possible. The number of hair follicle on your scalp are fixed.

Myth 6: Hair Becomes Thicker Because of Shaving-

Can a thick tree trunk come out of a tube? Not possible. Thickness of our hair depends the size of our hair follicle and it does not change. If your hair appears thicker to you after shaving, it is because you cut the hair at a sharp angle.

Myth 7: Hair Gets Used to the Same Shampoo So You Should Keep Changing Your Shampoo-

This is one of the myths spread by marketing people who want you to keep changing hair products. If your hair loves a certain shampoo why change it? And the improvement that you see in your hair on changing your shampoo only means two things- either the improvement is illusory or that you were using the wrong product previously. Whatever be the case, if you have found the perfect shampoo for your hair, keep using it.

Myth 8: Split ends can be repaired-

The only way you can solve the problem of your split ends in hair is to cut them off entirely. However, if you keep your hair hydrated you might be able to prevent split ends from occurring.

Skin and Eye Beauty Myths:

Myth 9: Moisturizers Can Prevent or Reduce Wrinkles-

Sorry to disappoint you mademoiselle but there is still no magical formula to prevent aging. A moisturizer will smoothen your skin to temporarily make wrinkles less apparent, but unfortunately, moisturizing your skin will not have any long-term effect on wrinkles. If you want to prevent some wrinkles use that sunscreen with ‘broad spectrum’ on it.

Myth 10: Cucumber Reduces Eye Puffiness-

Well, yes and no. There is no secret ingedient in cucumber to reduce puffiness. Only thing is that a cucumber can stay cold for long outside your refrigerator. That coldness is what actually reduces puffiness (it contracts the blood vessels around your eyes, thereby reducing swelling). So you can use anything that is cold, put it under your eyes and the swelling would go. You do not need cucumber.

Some videos on beauty myths-

Image Source